


A crush?!

by softgrungeprophet



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Crushes, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, POV Third Person Limited, Present Tense, Travel, it's been 84 years since i've posted anything and i don't know what tags to use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 12:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14694135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softgrungeprophet/pseuds/softgrungeprophet
Summary: Just guys being dudes





	A crush?!

The declaration that they must have been married in a past life is a form of greeting Link is unused to. In fairness, Link is unused to most forms of social interaction, and for all his boldness he often comes across as awkward, bumbling, or even rude in his questions. Nonetheless... Link knows that one generally does not declare someone your soulmate quite so boldly or publicly.

Beedle never seems to care about how he comes across, though. He is loud, and excitable, and blurts out the strangest things ("I think that technically makes you my stalker!"), and he is always happy to see Link.

Then again, isn't that his job? As a salesman, shouldn't he be happy to see any customer, seeing as they provide him with his sole source of income? And beetles?

Link tilts his head and raises his eyebrows—SELL ME ANYTHING?

Beedle's eyes trace the motion of his hands, and he beams. "Sure!" Down comes that folding table, with the thin ropes around his shoulders and the little cloth covering it, signs fluttering in the breeze as Beedle pulls out various wares from the pouches and pockets of his beetle-shaped backpack. Arrows, more arrows—why does this guy have so many arrows? And of course the bugs.

What would Beedle do if he knew what Link used the bugs for...?

Best not to dwell on that.

They spend a few minutes trading goods back and forth, including at least one gemstone which, while lustrous and glittery, isn't exactly practical for Link to keep. Not like he can't get more, anyway. It seems like the boulders in this place are jam-packed with precious minerals... A butterfly perches tame on Beedle's hand, fanning its wings, and Link stares at it absentmindedly.

"Is that everything?"

He glances up, broken from his wandering thoughts, and gives Beedle a curt but friendly nod. He gathers his things. Beedle gives him a wave in enthusiastic farewell, and of course an adamant declaration—"I can't wait to see you again!"

ME TOO. Link's soft smile is met with a crooked grin.

Night falls, now, the sun dipping gradually lower and painting the sky orange, and though they have already exchanged goodbyes, Link finds himself following Beedle into the stable-inn... Though Beedle settles in a spot on the floor, beside one of the building's supports, on the off chance that any sleepy travelers might trade with him.

Link, on the other hand, pays for a bed. Nothing special, but better than the cliff faces and tree roots he normally ends up sleeping on. There is a certain luxury in being able to pull the covers up over his head and peek out into the lamplit dimness of the room as people move in and out as quietly as possible, shuffling toward their own beds or leaving to tend to other needs. Even Beedle speaks quietly, for once, as he pays a weary traveler in exchange for what looks to be a homegrown bundle of carrots, red and purple and yellow.

When Link wakes, it is silent, and still, but for the tiniest peeps of birds. Morning coolness creeps along the floorboards, and most of the patrons are still asleep. One of the stablehands fetches Sweetpea, Link's sturdy brown pinto, and helps Link get her ready for the day. Link runs a hand down her cropped mane, and she bumps her head into his arm. He pats her nose before swinging up into the saddle.

Later in the morning, when Link and Sweetpea stop for a rest, a familiar voice resounds down the packed dirt road. Link perks up—and there is Beedle, hauling his huge backpack toward them, only slightly out of breath. Impressive, really. He drops down beside Link with a huff.

"Hi!"

Link tilts his head. FOLLOWING ME?

"Of course not!! How could you accuse me of such a thing!!"

Link reminds Beedle of his own recent stalking accusations, and gets a laugh out of him.

"I told you I was joking!" Beedle lays back in the grass and looks up at the sky. "I guess you just need to be teased more." His face is momentarily serious, but he cracks back into a smile after a moment.

They share lunch together, some apples and honey, a bit of jerky, and some stale rice crackers, while Sweetpea grazes nearby. At one point, Beedle takes out the carrots he'd bought the night before and tears the tops off, tossing the little bundle over to the horse. She snorts at him, but seems to enjoy the greens.

Beedle spends a good while pointing out the shapes of clouds, and Link listens to him ramble. It's nice. Once, in his excitement, Beedle grabs Link's hand in his own—"Look! That one looks like a stag beetle!" His hand is warm, and surprisingly soft for all his travels. Though still calloused. Link squints at the beetle cloud, trying to see the shape... A little bit, but the clouds shift with a high wind, all the way up there.

With his off-hand, Link notes that it looks like rain.

"Oh no!" Beedle sits up. "You're right! We'd better get moving!!"

So quickly, he moves, already up on his feet and lifting that bag. Link shakes his head, amused, and whistles for Sweetpea.

Sure enough, and maybe because of their slow pace, it begins to rain eventually. Not too bad at first, just a nice refreshing drizzle... But then it hardens, driving into the ground until Sweetpea's hooves splash in puddles, and speckles of mud dot Beedle's ankles. Link gestures to a narrow path between some trees nearby. He hops out of the saddle and leads Sweetpea behind him, with Beedle taking the rear, until they reach a clearing of sorts, sheltered by trees and the overhang of a shallow cave. There's a small waterfall nearby as well, and a pond.

The two of them—and Sweetpea—huddle beneath the rocky cave roof and wait for the rain to clear.

"Say, Link—"

Link pauses with his tunic halfway over his head, and makes a quizzical noise.

"Oh! Sorry!" Beedle laughs. "I just wanted to say thanks for letting me travel with you!"

With his free hand, Link flicks a YOU'RE WELCOME to Beedle, and manages to get out of his tunic with only a slight struggle before draping it over some rocks to dry. The two of them strip down to their underwear. There's enough water in Link's shoes to pour a stream out onto the mud... Meanwhile, Beedle has fared much better, thanks to the awning on his backpack... His shoes and shorts are still soaked, but his hair and top are totally dry. Link wrings the water out of his own hair with a displeased face. Turns out a cotton bandana isn't much help in a storm.

It takes a few hours of waiting, but their patience is rewarded by sunlight peeking between the clouds in long beams. And a rainbow, faint and watery, but still pretty.

"Wow!" Beedle runs out to look, clasping his hands together as if it's the most beautiful thing he's seen.

And he might be right. Something about the post-rain air is saturated with color, not just the misty rainbow, but also the vibrant greens of the leaves on the trees, and the deep bluish-gray of the parting clouds. The nearby waterfall all but sparkles as it splashes down from the rocks.

Softly, Link follows, his bare feet making barely a noise in the wet underbrush and mud. He startles Beedle, who visibly jumps as Link slips past him.

A frog hops along the edge of the pond. The water is cool and clear, and ripples outward from Link's body. He wades out to the middle, where it just comes up to his armpits, and waves back at Beedle. COME ON. YOUR FEET ARE DIRTY.

It's true. His feet are caked in mud. Beedle frowns for a second, but he follows Link into the pond. "I guess you're right," he mutters, and sits on a rock near the edge so he can wipe the previously-dried-and-now-wet-again mud from his ankles.

Link smiles.

The rest of the day is fairly uneventful, and they part ways eventually. But it has been... enjoyable.

Alone with Sweetpea, brushing her down and giving her some water, Link mumbles to himself. Nothing in particular, half a "maybe..." She whuffles at him. He kisses her forehead.

* * *

"I think I have a crush!" Beedle claps his hands over his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He can't stop nervous laughter from bubbling up, but he hasn't said anything incriminating yet, at least. There's no way Link could know Beedle's talking about _him_. He raises a finger, expression shifting to an exaggerated frown. "Don't tell anyone."

Link looks startled, but he nods, covering his mouth with one hand, a simplified gesture to say, I WON'T TELL.

"Good!"

Beedle goes through the usual ritual with Link, first selling him a handful of arrows, and any insects he might fancy, and then buying whatever Link wants to pawn off on him. As usual, he ends up losing more money than he makes... But this piece of amber has an entire scorpion inside! What a find! Sure, it's small, but wow!

He relaxes in the sun, shaded by his awning, as travelers pass by or stop in. Every few minutes Link will scurry by, doing whatever it is he does, stealing apples—sure, they're just sitting in a pile on some covered bales of hay, but what if they belong to someone?? Oh, and there he goes again, back inside, bumping into people and letting them bombard him with strange requests and tasks.

"I wonder if he ever does any of those things?" Beedle frowns. He remembers seeing Link run back and forth to one man, each time offering him some meat, and then being turned down... It seemed frustrating. But today, nothing like that happens. At least not as far as Beedle can tell.

There's no horse today, either, so Link must be traveling on foot.

Beedle closes his eyes and leans back against his beetle pack.

A shadow falls across him, and he squints one eye open. "Ah! Link!" He holds his arms out. "I'm so happy to see you!" Sure, it's only been a few minutes since they last spoke—oh? No it's been an hour, judging by the sky. He must have dozed off. "Do you need anything?!"

Link raises his eyebrows and tilts his head—oh, he's asking a question. Beedle watches his hands. He's not actually very good at Hylian Sign Language, but he can usually make it out well enough to understand Link... It seems like he's asking if Beedle wants to go on a walk?

"Lead the way!!" Beedle jumps to his feet, only swaying a little bit under the weight of his bag. Link laughs, very quietly, and heads out down the road.

The trees are in full bloom, petals drifting in the breeze. Beedle hums as he follows after Link. Maybe he should have left his bag behind, but you never know if a thief might drop by, so best to keep everything on hand. Link stops every few feet to wait. Alright, maybe he should have left his stuff behind after all. Beedle stops to catch his breath. "You walk too fast!"

Link apologizes, but he smiles impishly as his hand curls through the air. He goes off the road, now, into the trees. Beedle follows with some confusion. There's a slight footpath beaten into the undergrowth, but not much other than that, and it dwindles off after a little bit. But Beedle trusts Link—at least, trusts that Link knows how to travel safely through the woods. He's armed, at least. Beedle keeps close to him, just in case.

Finally, they come to a copse of trees. Link stops, and makes a shushing motion before slipping between some saplings, hunching low to the ground. Beedle crouches behind him, less elegant and less stealthy, but trying his best. They come into a clearing, cramped, full of mushrooms. In the center, a huge tree, all twisted around itself. Link sits down at the base of a mossy old trunk nearby, facing the big wizened tree, and pats the ground beside him. Beedle sits, relieved to rest his back and legs.

Voice quiet, Beedle asks, "Where are we?" He looks at the tree. "And why am I whispering?"

Link makes an innocent expression, and just signs WAIT.

Beedle tries to wait patiently, but he drifts off.

He wakes to a tap-tap-tapping on his hand—oh, he fell asleep leaning on Link's shoulder, too... How embarrassing. But Link is pointing at something. Beedle follows his gesture to the tree, and—"WOW!!!" He gasps. The old whirling bark is covered in rhino beetles of all kinds! Yellow and blue and green, and just wow! Beedle leaps to his feet. "Amazing!!!"

For a moment, the air fills with beetles, a buzz of whirring wings, and then they disappear into the long grass and other little nooks and crannies of wood and dirt, as the clearing subsides into stillness.

"Whoa..."

Beedle takes a moment to look around, and realizes it's night out, dark and quiet with the slightest chirp of crickets. Some luminous stone glows vibrantly nearby, and amongst the mushrooms and grass, a rabbit-like apparition hops away and disappears. When Beedle turns to face Link, he sees both of their bags, but not Link himself.

A whistle—Beedle looks up—Link sits at the top of that twisted old tree, swinging his feet.

"You're pretty sneaky, huh!!" Beedle hurries over and pulls himself up the tree. It's harder than he expects, but he manages to climb up to sit beside Link. Their shoulders bump as he settles, and Link smiles. Beedle sighs happily.

The moonlight is soft and silvery.

Beedle looks up at the boughs and fluttering leaves above them, and the slivers of dark sky and stars he can just barely make out.

"Hey, Link..." Beedle can feel his face redden, but in the dark, it's probably fine. "Thanks for showing me this place."

Link's head comes to rest against Beedle's shoulder, and he raises his hands. ME... oh, wait—I HAVE A CRUSH TOO. Oh, hm... and then, DON'T TELL ANYONE.

Oh, this is a joke. Beedle glares at Link. "Are you making fun of me!?"

Link takes Beedle's hand, taps his palm against his chest—NO.

"Okay, well... Well, use your own hands to say things." Beedle must be bright red, because he feels about a thousand degrees as he pulls his hand away from Link's. Link snickers, and leans up, and briefly kisses his cheek.

Ohhhhhh...

Oh.

Goodness.

"I'm telling everyone you kissed me!"

Link makes a surprised noise, like, what! and signs, I ASKED NO.

"That wasn't a joke?! Are you shy?!"

Link wrinkles his face up. NO. He sighs. YES. He looks confused for a moment, then nods with a sense of finality. NO GOSSIP.

Beedle laughs. "Okay, okay!" He covers his mouth, so his words come out muffled. "I won't tell anyone!"

GOOD.

They hold hands and listen to the crickets.

* * *

Here's how Sweetpea looked at the time of writing this fic:

She has monster horse gear from kilton now:

you can see more pics of my horses here: [link](https://sandsealsunlimited.tumblr.com/tagged/nadia%20loves%20horses)

ALSO

This is not directly related to this fic, but I figure if you're here you like Beedle x Link so here's a link to a 2 page comic I drew where they kiss:

[LINK](hoardlikegoldenirises.tumblr.com/post/175492018772)

(here's a preview of it)

 

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, when a character says "We must have been married in a past life!" U Kno I'm In.  
> ALSO sidenote the ALL CAPS PARTS are sign language. I briefly describe parts of some of the signs he uses (mostly like, "no" or whatever) and you may notice "Hey this isn't ASL," and that's because it's not. Because I can't hold back when it comes to languages, it's from a wip sign conlang I have creatively titled Hylian Sign Language.  
> In my mind, cemented by Zelda's diaries, which I read off of the wiki, Link has something akin to selective mutism.
> 
> Bonus sidenote. It's not something that comes up in the fic, but i just thought i would mention that I think my Link is probably genderqueer or something. i have yet to really come to a concrete decision but i know he's not cis.  
> (also Beedle is definitely a trans dude.)
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed.


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